Downtown Panel Wants To Finish With A Mural

Elmhurst — A painting on the drab exterior of a downtown building may be the final element in the 8-year effort of a committee of business leaders to improve the downtown business district.

The Central Business Development Commission was started as a way for local business owners and City Council representatives to work together to guide downtown redevelopment. Ald. Jan Vanek, a commission member, said the group has achieved all of its original 13 goals, except for moving forward with a mural on the building on Commerce Parkway.

"We've moved 13 items through the City Council, including the development of the Schiller block," Vanek said.

The ordinance establishing the commission states it should disband by May. The formation of a Special Service Area in the downtown also elmininates the need for the commission, Vanek said. Property owners in the city center contribute 1 percent of their property value to a fund used to promote business.

Gary Worth, the city's planning and development director, said painting a mural may not be as easy as one might think. An easement would be needed and a mural is expensive, he said.

Other projects the commission contributed to were the construction of a new City Hall and police station and the addition of two parking decks.